NEB&W Guide to Broadway Limited Steam Locomotive Models

Last Update: 2009-02-07

Loco Models Table of Contents
Locos Table of Contents
Rolling Stock Table of Contents

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They appear to be setting a new standard of excellence with their steam locos. All models appear to be based closely on specific prototypes, thus awesome if this is a prototype you are modeling, and not useful if not. (I know you can't have it both ways, but there isn't much to write about if a model is clearly labeled and accurate model of a given prototype. (They also appear to be doing many of the same prototypes produced by AHM or the earlier Bachmann line, but with a vast improvement.

• 12 N&W Class A 2-6-6-4 - Numbered 1218.
• 13 N&W Class A 2-6-6-4 - Numbered 1217.
• 14 N&W Class A 2-6-6-4 - Numbered 1224.
• 15 N&W Class A 2-6-6-4 - Unlettered.
  The Norfolk & Western's class A locos were first built in 1936, and continued through '50, some 43 locos all home-built, nos. 1200-1242. Series 1210-1234, which were built in 1943-'44, were the specific prototype of this model. (Don't know the variations between these but the two prototype photos of nos. 1200 and 1206 show a slatted pilot while the model has a solid casting.) No. 1218 is the only engine to have survived, being used in fan service until it was eventually put on display in the VA Museum of Transportation. Drivers were 70 inches and while the locos were intended for fast freight service, they also were used in passenger service, where they could maintain 70 mph.
  • [N&W 1200. Railway Age, 1936.]
  • [Side elevation. Railway Age, 1936.]
  • [Cross sections. Railway Age, 1936.]
  • [Front engine unit. Railway Age, 1936.]
  • [Backhead. Railway Age, 1936.]
  • [Details under the cab. Railway Age, 1936.]
  • [Front of the tender. Railway Age, 1936.]
  • [N&W 1206. Railway Age, 1940.]
  • [N&W 1238. Builder's photo, 1949. This loco has roller bearings on the side rods.]
  • [Model photo, courtesy Wm.K. Walthers.]

• USRA Light Mikado 2-8-2 - Over 1/3 of the 1,830 USRA locos produced were of light Mikados. There were 625 of these original USRA light 2-8-2's built during WWI and apparently 1,266 total including post-War clones, on over 50 railroads. (But USRA loco clones often look quite different from the original version, even though the boiler and running gear were pretty much the same.)
  • [Prototype built for the NYC, no. 5155. Lima builder's photo.]
  • [Comparison of the light (top) and heavy (bottom) Mikados.]

• USRA Heavy Mikado 2-8-2 - There were a total of 233 of the heavy Mikados (but 625 light, or nearly three times as many).
  • [Comparison of the light (top) and heavy (bottom) Mikados.]
  The original USRA heavies were distributed as follows:
  • CB&W, 15 locos.
  • CNJ, 10 locos.
  • CNW (their subsidiary, the Omaha, four locos.
  • Milwaukee, 100 locos.
  • EJ&E, five locos.
  • EP&SW, five locos.
  • FW&DC (Burlington subsidiary), five locos.
  • GN, four locos.
  • L&N, 20 locos (and 18 of the light version).
  • NKP (W&LE), 20 locos.
  • NYC (P&LE), 15 locos.
  • NYC (PMcK&Y), 15 locos.

• 81 ATSF 2-10-2 - Numbered 3877.
• 82 ATSF 2-10-2 - Numbered 3879.
• 83 ATSF 2-10-2 - Numbered 3881.
• 84 ATSF 2-10-2 - Unlettered.
  The Santa Fe had 2-10-0's, but found they had a problem if and when they tried to run the engine in reverse, so they added a trailing truck in the early 1900's, thus creating a new wheel arrangement which was named after them. The 3800 series were the last, some 141 engines constructed between 1919 and '27. The model comes with an oil tender.
  • [Model photo, courtesy Wm.K. Walthers.]

• 85 ATSF 2-10-4 - Apparently this was an experimental loco, based on their 3800 series 2-10-2's (see above) but this lone engine, no. 3829, was given a four wheel trailing truck when built in 1919. It would seem to have been a success as it lasted until 1955, the end of steam, yet the other 3800-series locos did not follow suit.
  • [Builder's photo.]
  • [Model photo, courtesy Wm.K. Walthers.]
  This loco has the distinction of being the first with a four wheel trailing truck, but I don't think it was added to support the bigger firebox as the "super power" that developed a decade later. I think it was just to provide a more stable ride while in reverse.
• 23 PRR J1 2-10-4 - During WWII, the PRR got 125 engines built to the C&O plans (as the government War Production Board limited the number of different designs). This class (J-1) was very unlike other Pennsy designs. (On the other hand, the C&O engines had been built 12 years earlier and there were probably some cosmetic changes between the two road's locos.)
  • [Drawing, courtesy Wm.K. Walthers.]
  • [PRR 6474, builder's photo.]
  • [PRR 6474, front end, builder's photo.]
  • [PRR 6474, broadside, builder's photo.]
  Actually, there were 65 J1's built 1942-'44 (nos. 6150-6174 and 6435-6474), and another 60 very similar J1a's in '43 (nos. 6401-6434 and 6475-6500). Supposedly the only difference was in the weight of the boiler sheets. These were the first Pennsy locos with a four wheel trailing truck.

• 33 C&O T-1 2-10-4 - Numbered 3001. According to North American Steam Locomotive Information page, the first 2-10-4's had too small drivers. The C&O basically stretched their Berkshire by adding another set of drivers and got Lima to build 40 in 1930, nos. 3000-3039. The use of 69 inch drivers to the 2-10-4 wheel arrangement made a big difference and allowed the locos to pull heavy freights at speed. (And by the way, the 2-8-4 design itself made use of a new type of two wheel lead truck that allowed better tracking, so it was used instead of making a 4-8-4 arrangement.)
  • [Builder's photo, courtesy Wm.K. Walthers.]
  • [Prototype photo, courtesy Wm.K. Walthers.]

• 16 PRR T1 4-4-4-4 - Numbered 5517.
  Although the wheel arrangement designation indicates this was an articulated loco, it actually was a 4-8-4 Mountain with a second pair of cylinders between the second and third drivers. In other words, the frame was rigid. The idea being that a major problem of fast heavy steam was the pounding of the rotating parts on the rails. By using two sets of rods, cylinders, etc. for just two wheels each, the Duplex split these parts in half with corresponding weight reduction. Driver diameter was 80 inches. In the late '30's, an experimental version was built, with a 6 wheel lead and trailing truck. This engine was exhibited at the World's Fair in New York City in 1939 and '40. Two T1's were built in '42, nos. 6110 and 6111. Fifty more were built in '45, nos. 5500-5524 home-built and nos. 5525-5549 by Baldwin. The driver diameter was 80 inches. The theory behind this design sounds good but in practice, many maintenance and operating problems arose. These locos are also unique looking in being built streamlined (with the distinctive Pennsy sharknose, and with no unstreamlined versions.
  • [PRR 5505, Pennsy builder's photo.]
  • [PRR 5533, Baldwin builder's photo.]
  • [PRR 6111. Color ad, Franklin Railway Supply Co., 1944.]

• PRR K-4 4-6-2 Pacific - To a Pennsy fan, the K4 pretty much represents the epitome of PRR power, much as a J3 Hudson would to a NYC fan. The first K4 was built in 1914 as a test engine, with a total of 425 locos built shortly thereafter through 1928. (According to Steam Locomotives dot com, the K4 was the largest class in the world.) The K4 was basically an enlarged PRR Atlantic 4-4-2 E6. Unfortunately for the rest of us, this model is hard to use for anything but a K4.
  • [PRR 1737. Builder's photo, 1914, of the first K4.]
  • [PRR 5496. Builder's photo.]
  • [PRR 5371, equipped with roller bearings on the rods. Railway Age, 1935.]
  • [PRR 5371, close-up on the running gear. Railway Age, 1935.]
  • [PRR 5451, c. 1939.]

• 1055 ACL 4-6-2 Pacific - Numbered 1519. With sound.
• 1056 ACL 4-6-2 Pacific - Numbered 1523. With sound.
• 1057 B&O 4-6-2 Pacific - Numbered 5203. With sound.
• 1058 B&O 4-6-2 Pacific - Numbered 5209. With sound.
• 1059 L&N 4-6-2 Pacific - Numbered 225. With sound.
• 1060 L&N 4-6-2 Pacific - Numbered 241. With sound.
• 1061 GM&O 4-6-2 Pacific - Numbered 267. With sound.
• 1062 GM&O 4-6-2 Pacific - Numbered 268. With sound.
• 1063 B&M 4-6-2 Pacific - Numbered 371. With sound.
• 1064 Erie 4-6-2 Pacific - Numbered 2922. With sound.
• 1065 RDG 4-6-2 Pacific - Numbered 217. With sound.
• 1066 Rutland 4-6-2 Pacific - Numbered 282. With sound.
• 1067 ACL 4-6-2 Pacific - Numbered 1519. With no sound.
• 1068 ACL 4-6-2 Pacific - Numbered 1523. With no sound.
• 1069 B&O 4-6-2 Pacific - Numbered 5203. With no sound.
• 1070 B&O 4-6-2 Pacific - Numbered 5209. With no sound.
• 1071 L&N 4-6-2 Pacific - Numbered 225. With no sound.
• 1072 L&N 4-6-2 Pacific - Numbered 241. With no sound.
• 1073 GM&O 4-6-2 Pacific - Numbered 267. With no sound.
• 1074 GM&O 4-6-2 Pacific - Numbered 268. With no sound.
• 1075 B&M 4-6-2 Pacific - Numbered 371. With no sound.
• 1076 Erie 4-6-2 Pacific - Numbered 2922. With no sound.
• 1077 RDG 4-6-2 Pacific - Numbered 217. With no sound.
• 1078 Rutland 4-6-2 Pacific - Numbered 282. With no sound.
• 1079 Undec. 4-6-2 Pacific - With sound.
• 1080 Undec. 4-6-2 Pacific - With no sound.
  There were 81 light Pacifics built during WWI, which went to the ACL, B&O, and L&N. Close copies were later built for these three as well as the GTW and M&O, with the ACL getting the most (70 total of the original and clones), and the B&O a far second (45 total original and clones). (The M&O was later merged into the GM&O.) I believe the B&M, Erie, and Reading versions are "imagineered" to put it nicely. The Rutland definitely did NOT have a USRA Pacific as such, light or heavy. (Their light class were probably based on the New York Central's K11 class and their heavy class seem to be a modified USRA heavy.)

• 61 NYC 4-6-4 Hudson - Class J1e, numbered 5335, with block lettering.
  Basically there were three classes of Hudsons on the New York Central. The J1 was the first, and had a straight boiler. The J2 were the 20 locos built for the hilly Boston & Albany, with smaller drivers (75 inch instead of the 79 of the J1 and J3). The J3 were the most famous, with a tapered boiler. It was the Lionel O scale version of this class that was the most well known scale model loco of its time. (Personally, they look pretty similar to me. The J1's had spoked drivers while the J3's had a type of solid disc. The J3's had slightly bigger domes.)
  • [NYC 5200, Alco builder's photo. First Hudson.]
  • [NYC 5324, 1931 Alco builder's photo. Class J1e.]
  • [NYC 5405, 1937 Alco builder's photo. Class J3a.]
  • [Comparison of the J1e and J3a.]
  • [Broadway Limited model. Photo courtesy Wm.K. Walthers.]

• 5 PRR M1a 4-8-2 - Numbered 6766.
• 50 PRR M1a 4-8-2 - Numbered 6720.
• 52 PRR M1a 4-8-2 - Numbered 6762.
• 53 PRR M1a 4-8-2 - Numbered 6744.
  The M1 was a single loco, no. 4700, built in 1923 using the Decapod boiler as a starting point. After two years of thorough testing, the PRR ordered 200 more, 175 locos from Baldwin, nos. 6800-6974, and 25 from Lima, nos. 6975-6999. These had 72 inch drivers. Eventually, the first loco, nos. 4700, was renumbered 6699.
  The M1a class followed, through 1930, of which 50 were built by Baldwin (nos. 6700-6749), 25 from Lima (nos. 6777-6799) and 25 home-built (nos. 6750-6774). The most noticeable difference is the much longer ("coast-to-coast") tender on the M1a. (The M1 had a single air compressor, the M1a had two and also a Worthington feedwater heater.
  The M1b class was created in 1946 from the M1b class, some 38 locos.
  • [PRR 6707, builder's photo. Railway Age, 1932.]
  • [PRR 6707, broadside, engineer's side. Railway Age, 1932.]
  • [PRR 6707, broadside, fireman's side. Railway Age, 1932.]
  • [PRR 6975 at the head of a stock train. Railway Age, 1936.]
  • [PRR 6946 hard at work. (Footboard pilot.) Railway Age, 1933.]
  • [PRR 6704, unknown date. Photo courtesy Wm.K. Walthers.]
  • [PRR 6775, unknown date. Photo courtesy Wm.K. Walthers.]

• 37 UP 4-8-2 - Numbered 7000 in the black and graphite scheme.
• 38 UP 4-8-2 - Numbered 7002 in the black and graphite scheme.
• 39 UP 4-8-2 - Numbered 7004 in the two-tone gray scheme with yellow stripes c. late '40's.
• 40 UP 4-8-2 - Unlettered.
• 44 UP 4-8-2 - Numbered 7018 in the two-tone gray scheme with silver stripes, c. late '40's.
  Union Pacific class MT-73. No. 7000 was the first of the 45 locos of the MT class, built in 1922. At some point, they were rebuilt with a disc main driver as the Broadway model is offered. (Drivers were 73 inches in diameter.) The gray passenger scheme was introduced in 1946, but the locos were repainted back to basic black after 1950.

• NYC S1b 4-8-4 Niagara - Prototype built in 1945. The S-1a was a single test loco, no. 6000, built in 1945. Nos. 6001-6025 were built later the same year, class S-1b, along with another test Niagara with poppet valves, no. 5500, class S-2a. Due to the lower clearances on the Central, these engines crowded the top of the clearance diagrams and the domes, etc. barely stuck above the top of the boiler. The cab was 15 ft. 2 ins. and the stack just a few inches higher.
  • [NYC 6008, class S1b, builder's photo.]
  • [NYC 6015, in the shops. Soph Marty photo.]
  • [NYC 6015, rear of cab. Soph Marty photo.]
  • [NYC 6015, in service. Soph Marty photo.]

• SP AC-4 4-8-8-4 Cab Forward - These were locos on the SP that were built to run cab first, because of the many and long tunnels and snowsheds. This kept the crew in front of the exhaust, not trailing it. These engines burned oil which could be piped to the firebox. Otherwise they couldn't have separated the firebox from the tender.
  According to the review in the June '66 MR, there were several classes of cab forwards, AC-4 through AC-12. The first three series (AC-4 through AC-6) had a flat front to the cab, while the rest had a rounded front.
  The classes are as follows:
  • AC-4, nos. 4100-4109, built in 1928.
  • AC-5, nos. 4110-4125, built in 1929.
  • AC-6, nos. 4126-4150, built in 1930.
  • AC-7, nos. 4151-4176, built in 1937.
  • AC-8, nos. 4177-4204, built in 1939.
  • AC-9, coal-burning "cab backwards" locos.
  • AC-10, ?
  • AC-11, nos. 4245-4274, 30 locos built by Balwin in 1942-'43.
  The AHM model was based on the plans of AC-11 no. 4272 in the June '48 MR and reprinted in Steam Loco Cyclopedia.
  • [SP 4100, Railway Signaling, 1926. Built c. 1923, the first locos, up until no. 4150, had a flat front. (Those holes under the cab were later plugged.]
  • [SP 4100 with plugged portholes. W.C. Whittaker photo.]
  • [SP 4101. Railway Age, 1943.]
  • [SP 4117, being turned. Railway Age, 1943.]
  • [SP 4152 (I think, it might be 4132) on a long freight. Railway Age, 1945.]
  • [SP 4159, Railway Age, 1938. The bowed front allowed them to check the staybolts without having to remove the cab.]
  • [SP 4177, one of 20 being built by Baldwin. Railway Age, 1939.]
  • [SP 4211, Railway Age, 1942.]
  • [SP 4272, Railway Age, 1948.]
  • [SP 4272, Railway Age, 1948. Fireman's side.]
  • [AHM model numbered 4272, in the post 1945 lettering. This upgraded model c. 1979 has reduced .039 inch deep flanges.]
  The first cab forwards were the MC-2 class ("Mallet - Consolidation) built in 1910. "AC" stood for "articulated - consolidation", probably meaning they were not compound engines. The SP had a total of 256 cab forwards and no other road is known to have had any.
  • [Class diagram of the 2-8-8-2 Mallet. Railway Age, 1911.]
  • [Postcard c. WWI. (The most distinguishing feature is the bulky arc headlight.)]
  There was the AC-9 class, 12 locos built by Lima in '39, which being coal burning locos, had to have the cab back by the tender. These locos looked like backwards cab forwards - the article in a '39 Railway Age even mentioned this. (And one could suggest these with the model turned around, although these had a streamlined skyline casting). These locos were used in the southwest, burning low grade bituminous coal from Dawson Field, NM. The driver diameter was 64 inches on these.
  • [Builder's photo SP 3800.]
  • [Builder's photo front. (The pilot is sheet metal with the "spokes/slats" painted on.)]
  • [Ad. Railway Age, 1943.]

• 59001S-59005S SP AC-12 4-8-4 Cab Forward - Broadway is also doing the AC-12 series. See above.

• 56 ATSF 4-8-4 - Numbered 3751.
• 57 ATSF 4-8-4 - Numbered 3753.
• 58 ATSF 4-8-4 - Numbered 3756.
• 59 ATSF 4-8-4 - Numbered 3757.
  This model is based on an earlier class of Santa Fe locos than the Bachmann model. All ATSF 4-8-4's were built by Baldwin. No. 3751 was built in 1927, nos. 3752-3760 were built in '28, and nos. 3761-3764 built in '29. As delivered, they burned coal and rode on 73 inch drivers, but later (1938-'41) rebuilt with 80 inch drivers and as oil burners.
  • [ATSF 3761, Baldwin builder's photo, 1929.]
  In '38, Baldwin built 11 more for the Santa Fe, 3765-3775, with came with 80 inch drivers. Another 10 came in '42, nos. 3776-3785, and finally in 1943-'44, nos. 2900-2929. The Bachman model is of these locos.

• 75 N&W 4-8-4 - Class J, numbered 611, with round tender deck.
• 76 N&W 4-8-4 - Class J, numbered 611, with flat tender deck.
• 77 N&W 4-8-4 - Class J, numbered 612, with round tender deck.
• 78 N&W 4-8-4 - Class J, numbered 613, with round tender deck.
  One thing is that by the time this prototype was built, they had figured out how to dynamically balance the drivers, allowing a smaller driver for a faster speed. Most locos like this had 79 inch drivers, but these N&W locos had tiny 70 inch ones. The N&W built the first five of these in 1941-'42, nos. 600-604. During the War, in '43, five more were built (nos. 605-610), without streamlining (to conserve steel), but the streamlining added afterwards. And three more were built in '50, nos. 611-613.
  • [N&W 600. Company photo.]
  • [N&W 600, front. Company photo.]
  • [N&W 605. Company photo.]

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